Obviously I love shopping… probably more than I should. Shopping is my therapy. It’s how I unwind. Finding a good deal makes my heart happy. But that love of shopping means I spend a lot of money. Probably too much money, sometimes. While we don’t currently operate from a budget (although I probably should. Definitely something to work on this year!) spending less money on the lame things, means we have more money for the fun things!

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For a lot of working moms, the countdown until your first day back to work starts as soon as your precious baby is born — but not in a good way. Each week, I’d have to check off one more week I had gotten to spend at home with my baby, and one week less until I had to return to work.

But, in looking for the positive side in sending my baby boy to daycare, it definitely made me cherish all of our time together at home for those first twelve weeks! During my maternity leave with Blaire, we were able to just hang out at home and relax most days. This time, I still sent Blaire to daycare so Ben and I could spend our days together. After that, we had a combination of spending our days at home relaxing and just hanging out. And the other times we would try to get out to the zoo, the park or the pool so Blaire would have lots of fun things to look back on from her time at home with mama and Ben.

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My first week with Blaire as a newborn was such a blur. I was so tired. My body was drained from my C Section. We had endless visitors. This time, everything is different. Whether it’s because my recovery is easier since I didn’t have to have a C Section. Or because we’ve had less visitors stopping by. Or because I’m getting more sleep at night than I was with Blaire. Or… if it’s because having a three year old (#threenager) at home means our newborn seems like the easy one. ;)

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ScotchBriteCleanHoliday#CollectiveBias

If there’s one thing you know about me as a human being, it’s that I really don’t like cleaning. I don’t find it therapeutic, relaxing, or calming. And it’s not that I don’t like having a clean house, because I do. And it’s not because my parents didn’t make me do chores when I was growing up, because I did. BUT having a perfectly clean house at all times is just not within my top priorities… which means I’ll make sure there aren’t dirty socks on the living room before when we’re expecting company, but I am not going to be worried that they might see Blaire’s toys sitting on the coffee table. #notsorry

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Thank you to Pink Blush Maternity for sponsoring this post! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If I had $1 for every time I heard someone complain about how hard it is to find cute/inexpensive/stylish maternity clothes, I’d have enough money to buy allll of the cute maternity clothes my heart desires. If you’re shopping in-person for maternity clothes, there may not be as large of a selection as there are for non-maternity clothing… but if you’re online, the options are endless! You already know Pink Blush Maternity is one of my all-time faves! They have so many options, whether you’re looking for something casual or something a little dressier for the upcoming holidays.